"When we began planning how touch and new types of PCs might work on Windows 8, we recognized the need to provide an effective method for text entry on tablets and other touch screen PCs. Since Windows XP SP1, which had Tablet PC features built in, Windows has included a touchable on-screen keyboard. But those features were designed as extensions to the desktop experience. For Windows 8, we set out to improve on that model and introduce text input support that meets people's needs, matches our design principles, and works well with the form factors we see today and expect to see in the future." If it's even 50% as good as the windows Phone 7 keyboard, they've got a winner. Still haven't found a touch keyboard that even comes close to WP7's keyboard.

If you've got a real Tablet PC (with Wacom stylus that fully replaces a three-button mouse), then you will not enjoy Windows 8 keyboard. You cannot resize it, it will not automatically grow more text lines, it does not remember the screen position etc. In one word, horrible.

It might be useful for finger-based systems, but I am too old for such toys.